Northern Ireland v Hungary: Michael O'Neill vows to reward supporters

Michael O'Neill leads his players in a training session ahead of the Hungary game

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Michael O’Neill has vowed to repay the faith of Northern Ireland’s fans by booking them a place at Euro 2016.

Victory over Hungary tonight will secure qualification to next summer’s finals in France and a first major tournament in three decades.

And the boss is determined to get the job done to say thank you to the Green and White Army who stuck by him during his troubled start to the post just under four years ago.

Northern Ireland finished second bottom of their 2014 World Cup qualifying group and won just one of the 46-year-old’s first 18 games in charge. O’Neill said: “I got a lot of support in the early days when things were difficult and that was huge for me. It isn’t easy when results are going against you but the supporters have been fantastic.

“The players have responded to that support and they want to deliver for the fans. We know the sense of anticipation because of the number of people coming up to us wanting to talk about France. It would be a fantastic tournament to be at and it would be fitting for our fans to be there. Hopefully we can do it for them.”

A draw would retain Northern Ireland’s four point cushion over Bernd Storck’s men with only two games to come, while a defeat would throw automatic qualification back in the mix. “We want the atmosphere to be intense and intimidating,” said O’Neill. “Equally, supporters have to understand that the team has to play with patience. We have to play on the front foot but not be reckless.

“We can’t make bad decisions and push too early. If we don’t win it isn’t disastrous and defeat also isn’t a disaster. If we have to go to the 89th minute of our final qualifier in Finland, so be it.

“There is an urgency and edge to the players but the mindset isn’t about having to win this game. We have the characteristics to see the campaign out and our objective is to finish the job but if we don’t, we still hold the keys to our destiny.”